Construction Spending Falls More Than Expected

Washington, DC, Dec. 1, 2008–U.S. construction spending fell 1.2 percent in October after the prior month was revised to unchanged, a Commerce Department report showed on Monday.

Analysts polled by Reuters ahead of the report were expecting a 1.0 percent decrease in overall construction spending after a 0.3 percent drop originally reported for September.

Private home building was off 3.5 percent, the sharpest fall since a 6.2 percent decline in July, while total public construction rose 0.7 percent.